DUNGEN

DUNGEN guitarist, Reine Fiske came out to begin moving equipment and was followed shortly by Mattias and drummer, Johan Holmegard.  Since DUNGEN‘s inception, Gustav Ejstes has been the primary force behind everything; arranging, writing, and manning the majority of the instruments on all 6 of his albums.  Fiske has been a major contributor since the first release and, in recent years, Ejstes has been able to reduce nearly all of his drum work by passing duties over to Holmegard.  Regardless of the quartet having solidified as much more of a formal “band” these days, Ejstes still performs a total of 8 different instruments on their brand new release, Skit i Allt (meaning: “Fuck All”) and continues to switch it up a bit in the live format.  Prior to making his entrance, a small upright piano was brought out and placed on the stage for the vocalist.  Yep… the setup was beginning to give me a bit of a flashback to last year and this was a good thing.  We tried to hype the fuck out of this performance and, although the crowd wasn’t at the capacity that these skilled musicians warranted, I could easily locate individuals whom I personally made the suggestion to.  Now it was DUNGEN‘s turn to make good on the promises that I had made for them.

When Gustav finally appeared, he humbly spoke into the mic, “I’m so nervous. I don’t know why.” He clarified that by explaining that it went “so well” the last time that they were in Seattle. Ejstes was wearing a Fleet Foxes T-Shirt, representing their past tour mates/local friends who had made an appearance with them on stage during that previous performance.  He made a point to give a shout out to Mattias Gustavsson‘s mom, who was in attendance, and then made a subtle yet comical statement about how attractive she was.  After his brief greeting, the rest of the band was ready, so he sat down at the keys and they instantly tore into the song “Vara Snabb“.

“Vara Snabb” is also the opening track for Skit i Allt.   I had the opportunity to listen to the new release for a week or so prior to the show and, while it didn’t pull me in as immediately as some of their past efforts, I was really anxious to see how the new tracks would come across live.  My conclusion was instantly favorable and the Swedes sounded as amazing as I had remembered them.  Like many Americans, my first exposure to DUNGEN came via their breakout third album, Ta Det Lugnt.   A friend had lent me the CD and, only after having it in my possession for weeks, I finally decided to check it out.  “Panda“, the first cut, had fragrant and infectious harmonies soldered into a powerful whirlwind of garage/psych rock grime that reached in and hooked me like a noodled catfish.  Ejstes‘ compositions have always showcased a great deal of range throughout all of his releases, but many of those who were drawn in by the heavier, psychedelically chaotic moments have been unable to adapt to the more recent releases.  The 2008 album, 4 seemed to retain a higher percentage of jazz and folk heavy numbers and, now with Skit i Allt, the group continues to explore those territories even further.  I have a feeling that this new release may reduce the group’s following even further, but it’s actually a really solid effort throughout.   As a whole, Skit i Allt transports the listener to picnics in sepia-toned spring fields, with majestic crows swirling on cannabis and lilac tinctured breezes.  It’s less napalm and more grainy super-8 afternoons swimming at the quarry in cut offs.  Don’t get me wrong, it does have it’s moments of brush fires and/or the sudden collapse of a wood-rotted barn, but they pull back the reins on the rusty, carnival ride banshee screeches and crank up the whimsical pixie vibe a few notches.  Out of the dungeon and into the dungen (aka: “the grove”), if you will.  More glen and less Glenn.  Whereas tracks like “Intro” (Tio Bitar) took grisly off-road treks through hellish landscapes, while incorporating the occasional pit stop at a gentle brook, Skit i Alt continues to demonstrate DUNGEN‘s ability to craft equally tremendous compositions when they invert that formula.

Ejstes and his minions hit the ground running and it was evident that even those who had yet to hear the new album were already being swallowed up by the set opener like plankton.  “Vara Snabb” sounded so smooth that it was surprising to hear Fiske make a side comment about them having problems during the song.  They followed it with the shrieking feedback and crushing distortion of “Bortglomd” (Ta Det Lugnt) and the ominous sailboat ride of “Mina Damer Och Fasaner” (4) before returning to another new track, “Barnen Undrar“.   Within the first 3 songs, Gustav had already pulverized his piano keys, manned an acoustic guitar, and gently coaxed apparitions from his flute.  He would often shift from supplying vocals from behind his piano bench to leaping onto his feet, stomping around and laying into his tambourine like it forgot the words to an Ike Turner song.

For someone who carefully crafts his compositions to be content with simply dancing around with a percussive instrument at times, displays a great deal of confidence in his “backing” band, but these guys are no joke and are extremely accomplished musicians in their own right.  Johan Holmegard drums with mind-boggling precision, without sacrificing any power or ferocity.  As for Reine Fiske‘s guitar work, his abilities were as puzzling to me as ever, and I was standing right in front of him the entire show.   In groups where everyone is this equally skilled (as with Zeppelin, Phish, Rush, etc) each of the members almost seem to take on their own individual superhero-like persona. Fiske creates feedback and distortion that are inherently chaotic in nature, but then manages to direct them at will, as if wielding a haunted scythe.  Holmegard forms cracks in the Earth, while, Mattias Gustavvson supplies pulsating tremors and Fiske hovers in the eye of his own self-created tornado.   DUNGEN has the ability to venture into areas of undeniable beauty, but it just as often felt as if they were summoning a kraken and controlling it with a shock collar.

They continued the show by alternating back and forth between tracks from Ta Det Lugnt and 4.   They went from “Festival” into the song “Bandhagen“, which Gustav mentioned was about a town in Sweden where he once lived.  Then came “Sluta Folja Efter“, “Fredag“, and “Panda“.   This is the portion of the show where the band really started to hit some uneven tread.

FREDAG

Click here to view the embedded video.

I found this video footage of “Fredag” [above] from a member on Youtube and, although I’m sure that its washed-out graininess wasn’t created by design, it does offer a somewhat fitting aesthetic, along with some nice audio and insight into what was happening at the show.  If you keep your eyes on Reine Fiske [left], you’ll notice that he’s having some issues with his equipment.  It’s not uncommon for him to face his amp throughout the show, but this time it wasn’t so much done to create feedback as it was to figure out what the fuck was going on.  Beyond just tweaking knobs, this is also the point where he broke one of his guitar strings.  Unless you are incredibly familiar with the tune, however, you may not even notice any issues if you were to listen to the audio alone.

“Panda” was the first time that their sound was substantially effected by the technical difficulties that the group and, more specifically, Reine Fiske were experiencing.  When Holmegard pounded out the opening drum intro, Gustav humorously directed him to stretch it out longer and longer, while Fiske attempted to slap on a new string and pull his equipment problems together.  Once the song was in full swing, however, there were noticeable crunches of distortion, along with abrupt dropouts and blaring surges in the audio.  The next two songs, “Blandband” and “Marken Lag Stilla“, were new tracks from Skit i Allt.  Fiske‘s amp didn’t sound like it was at risk of blowing out anymore, but I could sense his frustration as he encountered issues like unplugging the chord from his pedals with his own foot.  There was a bit of a delay when they decided to kick into the title track from Ta Det Lugnt.  I’m not sure of the exact issue but, as Gustav grabbed his electric guitar and they tried to deal with whatever was holding them back, Holmegard did his best to kill time.  He grabbed the mic and explained that this was the point in the show where he should tell jokes to fill in any downtime and that he would, but didn’t know any.

Everyone left the stage but Gustav returned shortly after for a solo piano version of “Det Tar Tid“.  He finished the song off with a little beat box and the subsequent statement, “all that scratching is making me itch” before joining the rest of his pals backstage.  It wasn’t long before the whole band returned and took their individual positions for the encore.  Ejstes gave props to his cohorts’ musical proficiency and indispensable contributions by joking that he just plays the tambourine.  As Reine strapped on his guitar, he spoke into the mic, “We just had a fight, so this is the last song“.  Ejstes responded immediately with, “But we made up” and then began smashing away at his keys as they entered into “Hogdalstoppen“.  This song features what are easily the most unwieldy and aggressively demonic moments on the new album.  For their live rendition, they decided to take it up yet another notch but, right in the middle of the unadulterated full-on chaos, something went wrong.  I’m not sure if Reine broke another string, if his pedals came unplugged again, or what happened, but he was definitely pissed off and he definitely showed it.  He yanked off his guitar, slammed it down on the ground, smacked a drink off of Ejstes‘ piano, and then stormed off the stage.  The show was over.  The rest of the band smiled cordially and waved goodbye, with Ejstes even returning later to greet folks in the dispersing crowd.

A DUNGEN show is not unlike modifying a giant hang-glider into a stunt kite, strapping it to a venue, and then pushing it off of a cliff.  There are enthralling nose dives, drastic ascensions, tranquil soars, sharp turns, plummeting drops, and plenty of tail-spins.  This particular show encountered some additional turbulence, but who gives a fuck?  It was still packed tight with enough jaw dropping moments for me to consider it a successful evening.  I’m sure that Fiske might disagree, but I’m also sure that the majority of the crowd had no idea that there were any issues at all until he slammed that fucking guitar into the stage.  His frustration only demonstrates the very passion that infuses the group with their drive and potency in the first place.  Regardless of their generally light-hearted attitudes, they take their crafts incredibly seriously.  After one especially intense jam, Gustav calmly segued into telling the audience that he had visited the hotdog stand across the street by stating that he had eaten “A sausage… or, a wiener… a piece of meat.“  He then put focus on the cultural differences by adding that he had “remembered to tip” this time.  DUNGEN‘s appeal comes from this dichotomy of jovial pleasure and therapeutic angst… exotic uncharted landscapes and musty nostalgia… time release Adderall and handfuls of Soma…  comfort and anxiety.  One minute you’re on a relaxing canoe ride and the next thing you know, you realize that you’re strapped to a torpedo.  They have the skills, work ethic, and confidence, but without any of the gimmicky bullshit or pretentious attitudes of bands that believe their own hype.  Perhaps it’s just my own cultural misinterpretation, but DUNGEN seems to maintain the perfect balance of really giving a fuck and really NOT giving a fuck.

And the new album?  It’s good and the songs that they performed blended in with their older material fairly seamlessly.  Skit i Allt doesn’t really have that one huge powerhouse track of a “Panda“, instantly knocking me across the chops with it’s vicious paw the first time through.  It’s more subtle than that and the more that I listen to it, the more that it grows and the intricacies pronounce themselves.  These guys aren’t just an ultra-precise prog band, relying  on 38 minute technical compositions or even a stoner metal group consisting strictly on fat droned-out chords.  Instead, they often find themselves somewhere in between.  DUNGEN has a tendency to move from genre to genre on an album and even within the same song.  Their new release is a little bit different.  It’s definitely its own entity, but it works much better when it’s simply viewed as one singular component in their catalog.  Remember, these guys are already 6 albums deep and it feels as though Ejstes is approaching his compositions with a much broader view at this point.  I believe that many people will miss some of the intense fluctuations, which were demonstrated so prominently throughout the earlier releases, but it feels ironic to view any new change in direction as an enemy of diversity.  It’s all about how close you want to focus your microscope, but when you pan out and view the larger picture of DUNGEN‘s career and their development as a whole, I find that Skit i Allt will prove a solid addition to the quartet’s legacy.  It’s similar to the way that their setlist is composed of various songs from different time periods, but they work together to create one complete show, or even how the sum of the parts overshadowed any gaps or missteps throughout the night.  For now, I’m content enough with the acknowledgment that DUNGEN is still going strong and that what they are creating now is only sewing the seeds for and in preparation of the future.

Last years’ show took place on the exact same stage and, based on the quality of that display, anyone that was in attendance couldn’t be blamed for expecting that DUNGEN would have sold out this followup Seattle performance and in a larger venue, no less.  I may have assumed something similar, had my friend Josh not already expressed shock about last years show not being packed, after being blown away by them a year earlier.  He thought that they would have reached some sort of “Zeppelin status” by then, and deservedly so, but there didn’t seem to be too much of a risk of the show selling out on this Sunday night.  Further reflecting on last years show, I knew that we should still try to arrive somewhat early.  That show had featured a unusually solid lineup and introduced me to the incredible Brooklyn lo-fi folk outfit WOODS, so I was curious to see what tonight’s opener, The Entrance Band had to offer.

Doors were at 8pm.  We showed up at 9 and the main entrance and will call window were closed off.   Ticket holders were instructed to enter through the attached MOE Bar, which was the first sign that they weren’t expecting an overwhelming turnout.  Sign number two was that the entire upper bar/balcony section was completely closed off.  When we walked through to the stage, we were the only people in the place that were not staff.  We looked at the merch booth for a minute, which had suffered a vinyl shortage do to a shipping error, and then headed back to the bar to get a drink.  I was worried that it was starting to get late and the show hadn’t started, but then I saw DUNGEN bassist, Mattias Gustavsson walk past our booth with a pair of older Swedish women and I figured that we still had some time to kill.  Even more time past but, eventually, we did hear some music coming from down the hall.  The Entrance Band had started.

THE ENTRANCE BAND

The Los Angeles 3-piece, formed by Guy “Entrance” Blakeslee, wasn’t performing to a particularly large or active crowd, but that didn’t seem to affect them in the slightest.  The trio was arranged with Blakeslee and bassist, Paz Lenchantin on corresponding sides of the stage, while psychedelic circular projections of light rippled outwards from center stage at the drum kit of Derek James.  Much of the time, the southpaw guitarist remained just outside of the light-beam’s range, howling in the shadow and playing a right-handed Fender strung in reverse.  Although the light show’s alignment was slightly amiss, I’m sure that the “upside down” Jimi Hendrix-style axe routine that Guy had going was purely intentional.  Beyond the simple fact that he’s created a power-trio, Blakeslee‘s wild, electric distorted squeals screamed “The Experience!“, not to mention his antics of playing on his knees and falling to his back.

Lenchantin was wearing a dangerously short black and white Laugh-In-era-Gold Hawn shift dress and aggressively manhandling her bass.  The bassist was shoeless and rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet.  She remained in that balancing groove throughout the show, at one point even climbing onto her bass amp.  Although Paz is a former member of the short-lived ZWAN;  temporarily enabling Billy Corgan‘s insatiable fetish for female bass accompaniment (along w/D’arcy Wretzky, Melissa Auf der Maur, Ginger Pooley, and Nicole Fiorentino), it didn’t take long to realize that Paz was much more than simply filling some gimmicky role of token bassist with vagina.  In fact, she is actually ridiculously good.  I play bass and I love music, so two things that irritate the fuck out of me are terrible unoriginal bass players that contribute nothing and corny gimmicks devoid of substance.  Lenchantin doesn’t, by any means, hide in the background. Her work is complex and inspired, but merges seamlessly with her other band members; broadening the sound, rather than detracting from it.  She easily stole the show during the set and her love of performing was palpable.  The multi-instrumentalist was also an original member of A Perfect Circle (strings, piano, acoustic guitar) and has even contributed to albums like Songs for the Deaf (strings) by Queens of the Stone Age and Silver Jews‘ Tanglewood Numbers (fiddle).  She’s been on larger stages than this one; they all have, but The Entrance Band was still going pretty hard at this half empty Seattle club.  With Blakeslee‘s habit of standing on one leg as he sings and Lenchantin‘s tip-toe balancing act, the trio resembled a pair of high-voltage lawn flamingos being backed by a bulldozer.

Derek James‘ hair hung in his face while he focused on applying a whoopin’ to his kit.  The songs essentially consisted of the drummer chiseling out a beat and the other two members laying swirling, hovering grooves over it and jamming the fuck out.  I’m not familiar with their recorded material, but I would wager that The Entrance Band is a group whose strength is their live show.  They play well together and were able to really get their extended psych rock jams off of the ground and transport them into interesting directions without stumbling.  During his recent production work for Neil Young, Daniel Lanois spoke of his belief that new sounds are still available for creation andof the misguided tendency for “artists” to rely on the past for their sound.  Blakeslee‘s group is definitely guilty of siphoning ideas for his 70‘s rock revival sound and I find it hard to believe that anyone could hear him play guitar without instantly noticing his admiration for Jimi Hendrix.  It’s a slippery slope but, even with the obvious cliches, I feel that the trio somehow avoids the ultra-contrived end result and traps that I feel groups like Wolfmother have fallen into.  Maybe it’s the rhythm section that the Baltimore transplant has working with him these days.  Whatever it is, ENTRANCE has assembled something that, at the very least, works great in a live setting.  There’s no denying that these guys draw heavily from their forefathers but, when they are on stage, they are entirely present, creating for the moment, and it’s tangible.  A lot of this throw back psychedelia shit can easily come across as bad karaoke at a hippie-themed costume party.  When I catch a glimpse of that filth coming, it’s often hard for me to let it go and focus on anything else besides how forced it feels.  Sure, The Entrance Band travels in an old school bus and, if they had nothing else to offer beyond such outdated references and comparisons, then they’d be doomed.  This is not the case and, while it’s next to impossible to completely separate them from their influences, it’s just as difficult not to acknowledge them for what they are: a solid, enjoyable group with a sound of their own, and a terrific live show that’s worth the “entrance” fee.

[CLICK HERE to read part 2]

Thank you and hello again, everybody.  This week our pop-spotlight song of the week comes from a young Los Angeles, California trio calling themselves WAVVES.  Essentially a project of San Deigo native, Nathan Williams, the first two releases from the lo-fi punk outfit were recorded behind the home of Williams‘ parents, launching the young man into the forefront of America‘s burgeoning Garage Rock resurrection.  For the current incarnation, Williams has recruited the late-Jay Reatard‘s former rhythm section, Stephen Pope (bass) and Billy Hayes (drums).  Together they have released the high-energy 12-track gem, King of the Beach, that all the kids are bopping their heads and tapping their toes along to.  Today our spotlight shines on one particular song from this release and it’s corresponding video, which focuses on extra-terrestrials and skateboarding.  Ladies and gentleman, please enjoy “Post Acid“.

Alright… without all of the Casey Kasem bullshit, I do want to add a bit more information before you actually watch the video.  First off, it was recorded in the Echo Park area of Los Angeles and was filmed by DIY filmmaker, Patrick O’Dell, also known for his short-doc series Epicly Later’d.  Aside from a cameo by aging MTV VJ, John Norris, the alien featured in the video is played by professional skateboarder Kevin “Spanky” Long.  Actually, that’s probably enough for now.

More information after the video.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Of the concept, Williams has said:

“I’m glad I finally got to fulfill my dream of ripping off the premise of the movie Encino Man… except we replaced the caveman with a skateboarding alien!“

As for working with Wavves on the project, O’Dell made the following comments

“I love it when a band comes up with something totally bizarre and ambitious rather than shrugging and saying ‘I don’t know, what do you wanna do?’ as they mope around looking cool,“

and…

“I feel like we’ve almost made one of those fan videos where an anonymous person out there cuts up a movie they like and fits it together with a song they like and uploads it to YouTube. This is one of those videos, but the band just happens to star in the movie.“

The still above comes from O’Dell‘s site Epiclylaterd.com.
To view more production images CLICK HERE.

To download the mp3 for “Post Acid” for free, visit Green Label Sound HERE.

WAVVES is currently on tour.  In fact, I’m still pissed about missing their Seattle show on Wednesday, but my head felt like someone threw a brick at it.  They’ve got quite a few more dates ahead of them so, you still probably have a good chance of catching them.  Note: they’ve just added a bunch more dates as the opening act for Phoenix

TOUR DATES

08/27 Victoria, BC Sugar
08/30 Davis, CA Sol Collective
08/31 Visalia, CA Howie and Sons Pizza Parlor
09/04 Los Angeles, CA FYF Fest
09/10 Memphis, TN Hi-Tone *
09/11 St. Louis, MO Billiken *
09/12 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall *
09/14 Bloomington, IN Rhinos *
09/15 Columbus, OH Skully’s *
09/16 Buffalo, NY Mohawk Place *
09/17 Northampton, MA Pearl Street Nightclub *
09/18 Waltham, MA Brandeis University
09/20 Providence, RI Met Café *
09/21 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg *
09/24 Kingston, NY 323 Wall Street
09/25 Baltimore, MD Ottobar *
09/27 Washington, DC Rock and Roll Hotel *
09/28 Greensboro, NC Guilford College *
09/29 Charlotte, NC Milestone *
09/30 Atlanta, GA Drunken Unicorn *
10/01 Nashville, TN Exit/In – Next Big Nashville *
10/02 Oxford, MS Proud Larry’s *
10/18 Boston, MA Agganis Arena !
10/20 New York, NY Madison Square Garden $
10/21 Montreal, QC CEPSUM !
10/22 Toronto, ON Ricoh Coliseum !
10/23 Philadelphia, PA Tower Theatre !
10/25 Myrtle Beach, SC House of Blues !
10/26 Orlando, FL House of Blues !
10/27 Miami, FL The Fillmore !
11/06 Austin, TX Fun Fun Fun Fest

$ = w/ Phoenix, Dirty Projectors
! = w/ Phoenix
* = w/ Christmas Island

Fred Cole is like some sort of musical version of High Lander or a vampire.  Since 1964, at a mere 16 years of age, Cole has been an enduring force in the music industry.  By organically adjusting, adapting, and adding to his signature sound, he has been able to move inconspicuously amongst mortals throughout the many passing decades.  Few others can lay claim to having performed shows with the likes of the Doors and Janis Joplin in the Sixties, as well as with Punk legends like Ramones in the Seventies, and bands like Black Lips of today.  Fred Cole has been there and transitioned admirably through all of it.

Fred met and married his wife Toody before he was out of his teens and they have been together ever since.  Through the births of their children, playing in various bands together, running a music/general store, and even living in the unforgiving elements of the Yukon, the Coles are like the Zan and Jana of sonic onslaughts.  From the garage rock/psychedelia of The Lollipop Shoppe, to the punk of The Rats, to the country-influenced The Range Rats, and the mashed up rough punk of Dead Moon, Fred has remained a vital voice in the music industry and Toody‘s has increasingly grown stronger and stronger.  After almost 20 years and being the subject of a documentary, Dead Moon disbanded in 2006, when the couple parted ways with drummer, Andrew Loomis.  Now, with the addition of drummer, Kelly Halliburton (Severed Head of State, Defiance), the Cole‘s are about to head out on tour with their most recent musical project, Pierced Arrows.

I caught Pierced Arrows during their last appearance in Seattle and they were an impressive live act; incorporating new tracks with classics from projects of the past.  Their sophomore album, Descending Shadows will be released by VICE Records on February 2nd.  The following video of the trio performing their new song, “Let It Rain” in the yard of their Oregon home.

…. and here’s the video for their song “Paranoia”, also on Descending Shadows.

Make Sure to catch them when they come through your town.

Tour Dates:

^ = w/Lullabye Arkestra

2/07/10            PORTLAND, OR                       SLABTOWN
2/23/10            FARGO, ND                             THE AQUARIUM
2/24/10            MINNEAPOLIS, MN                   7TH STREET ENTRY
2/25/10            CHICAGO, IL                           SUBTERRANEAN
2/26/10            DETROIT, MI                           THE CAFÉ
2/27/10            CLEVELAND, OH                       BEACHLAND TAVERN
2/28/10            PITTSBURGH, PA                      31st STREET PUB
3/02/10            ALBANY, NY                            VALENTINE’S
3/03/10            TORONTO, ON                         EL MOCAMBO
3/04/10            MONTREAL, QC                        GREEN ROOM
3/05/10            NEW YORK, NY                        MERCURY LOUNGE^
3/06/10            HOBOKEN, NJ                          MAXWELL’S^
3/07/10            NEW HAVEN, CT                       CAFÉ NINE^
3/09/10            PHILADELPHIA, PA                     KUNG FU NECKTIE^
3/10/10            WASHINGTON, DC                     DC9^
3/11/10            BALTIMORE, MD                        GOLDEN WEST CAFÉ^
3/12/10            CHAPEL HILL, NC                       THE CAVE
3/13/10            ATLANTA, GA                             LENNY’S BAR
3/15/10            HOUSTON, TX                            RUDYARD’S
3/16/10            DENTON, TX                              RUBBER GLOVES^
3/23/10            TEMPE, AZ                                 SAIL INN^
3/24/10            SAN DIEGO, CA                          BAR PINK^
3/25/10            COSTA MESA, CA                        THE DETROIT BAR^
3/27/10            LOS ANGELES, CA                       REDWOOD BAR^
3/28/10            LOS ANGELES, CA                       ECHOPLEX^
3/30/10            SAN FRANCISCO, CA                    BOTTOM OF THE HILL^
3/31/10            PORTLAND, OR                           DANTE’S^
4/01/10            SEATTLE, WA                             THE FUNHOUSE^